Industry News by Nemesis

IDE Mandates Disclosure of Inclusion Mapping

Rough sellers at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) will be required to disclose that a stone has undergone inclusion mapping following an agreement between the bourse and Sarine Technologies.

The IDE approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sarine, which makes the Galaxy mapping equipment, on Tuesday that means traders will no longer be able to conceal that a rough diamond they sell has been through the machine.

Sarine’s Galaxy systems are the only machines in the market that perform inclusion mapping on rough diamonds, the IDE said. They often do not leave any indication that mapping has taken place.

“Sarine collects and stores the information of all unmarked stones that are scanned by our Galaxy machines,” said Uzi Levami, Sarine’s executive director and chief executive officer(pictured, right). “Upon request, we will provide this information to the Israel Diamond Exchange, its members and its tenants.”

The IDE initiated the agreement with Sarine at the request of “several” bourse members who called for improved transparency in rough purchases, according to a statement by the exchange. The MOU “provides a mechanism that significantly improves the position of the rough purchaser in relation to the rough seller,” said Yoram Dvash, president of the IDE (left).

A proposal that the requirement be adopted by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses was made at the World Diamond Congress in Dubai in May by Dvash, with a view to improving transparency globally.

“The Israel Diamond Exchange aims to achieve maximum transparency for the benefit of its members and the industry as a whole,” said Dvash. “This is one of the important steps we are taking to achieve that goal.”